Vehicle body deck lids are conventionally mounted by gooseneck hinges for movement between open and closed positions with respect to an access opening of a compartment of the vehicle body. Such gooseneck hinges as disclosed by U.S. Pat. Nos.: 3,304,117 Harris et al and 5,195,215 Kiefer conventionally have a gooseneck member with one end pivotally mounted on the vehicle body and another end fixedly secured to the deck lid and with a curved intermediate portion extending between the ends such that the deck lid edge is capable of moving away from the vehicle body in a spaced relationship upon movement from a closed position to an open position. Other gooseneck hinges such as disclosed by U.S. Pat. Nos.: 4,206,944 Kumagai et al and 5,195,796 Wampler, II have previously had the gooseneck member provided with an end slidably mounted on the vehicle body such as in a straight or curved slot. Regardless of the manner in which the gooseneck hinge is mounted either by pivoting or sliding, in the closed position the curved shape of the gooseneck member intrudes into the associated vehicle compartment and thereby limits it usable space.
Other patents which were noted during an investigation conducted in connection with the present invention but which do not relate to vehicle deck lid hinges and are thus not believed to be as relevant as the patents described above include U.S. Pat. Nos.: 1,887,549 Ervin; 2,071,070 Horst; 2,085,616 Voge; and 4,692,964 Debruyn.